This article is the result of ethnographic research exploring the relationships between social movements for the commons and local institutions in Naples. Proposed as an effective counter-narrative that opposes the clientelistic and corrupt management of public resources, the approach introduced by the Neapolitan commons network has become a model on a national scale and beyond. My aim is to describe the social and cultural factors underlying commoning practices and policies for the commons in a context that expresses specific conceptions of the political. I will dwell, in particular, on the experience of L'Asilo, the first community of commons activists who obtained recognition from the local administration for the 'civic use' of a public building that they had occupied in the historic centre of Naples.